Dealing with the fear of failure.

Let’s face it, being an entrepreneur is an inherently risky path to follow. On one hand, when you succeed, you have created something significant and meaningful that is your own. It’s a feeling that is hard to match.

On the other hand, going all in and failing on something is a feeling that can seem hard to recover from.

When it comes to starting a business, the fear is very real, and it is very understandable. It’s honestly what holds most people back from taking that first leap.

At the HuB, working in close proximity with lots of like-minded people, the number one killer I have seen of success is fear. When fear sits in, it can become overwhelming, and it can escalate to the point where it completely kills motivation and stalls your efforts.

Failure is inevitable. It’s like a punch in the mouth. But it’s the part when you wipe the blood from your lip and keep going that makes you stronger. Sure there may be losses monetarily or even with broken relationships. But running away from opportunities and running away from what you are passionate about doing is no way to go through life in any aspect.

The fact that you failed is admirable enough simply in the sense that you did something with your life.

The key is quantifying it and understanding, growing and learning from it.

There will always be second chances. One failure does not mean indefinite failure. Take what you’ve learned, apply it to where you choose to go next in life, whether it be a business start-up, a freelance trade, or whatever it is you have to offer. Lessons from failure will make you stronger every time.

Along with the fear of failure comes the fear of what people are going to think. But honestly, who gives a fuck. Just as there’s a risk in going all in and starting something new, there is a risk in putting your creativity out there for the world to see. You’re always going to be opening yourself up to criticism. Take it. Again, quantify it, then keep moving forward. At the end of the day, not everyone will like what you produce and that’s just fucking fine.

Understanding this and being okay with this is not only an essential trait for business, it’s an essential trait to get you through life.

If you’re going to be afraid, be afraid of not making yourself happy, don’t mind what anyone else thinks. It doesn’t really matter, as long as you’re happy with what you’re creating, on your own with your own initiative, then you’re doing something right.

If you want a remote chance of being successful, you need to figure out how to turn fear back into motivation. Don’t let fear stall you. Don’t’ let fear make you hesitant. Don’t let fear keep you from putting your own plans into motion. Otherwise it’s over before it starts.

Use fear as a driver. Instead of asking the “what ifs” of if you fail, or what people will think, ask the “what ifs” of if you do nothing.

I’ve learned to use that as motivation, rather than letting my fears hold me back and distract me. It’s gotten me this far.